Cass McCombs played The Sinclair – 1/15

Singer/songwriter McCombs returned to Greater Boston for a winter tour with support from lounge-y combo Kolumbo.

For a time, it seemed like I was seeing Cass McCombs everywhere. Circa 2013 and the release of his double album Big Wheel and Others, McCombs was part of a Government Center Boston Calling alongside Jack Johnson, of all people, and hit The Sinclair as both a headliner with a light show and a co-bill with SST cowpunk legends Meat Puppets (the only show I’ve covered to date for which my photos appear to be fully lost). Almost a decade later, we’d lost touch, but a snowy January night was prime time for a reunion.

In the meantime, McCombs has released three further LPs of his wry, thoughtful folk-rock, including last year’s excellent Heartmind. That record was the main focus of Sunday night’s set, which eschewed any light shows or notable Kirkwoods in favor of an honest, no-frills show. McCombs and his three-piece band (keys and a rhythm section) sounded tight and just the right amount of jam-adjacent, warming a modest but appreciative crowd with a generous 90-ish minutes. No one in the band is much for talking, but sometimes nobody needs to be. The night was a lovely way to make a reacquaintance.

Openers Kolumbo – led by keyboardist Frank LoCrasto, who pulled double duty in McCombs’ band – offered a pleasantly left-field opening set that lounged comfortably in the realm of vintage, fusion-jazz exotica. The trio’s instrumental ventures (which are a bit more orchestrated on record) wouldn’t sound out of place in the Mad Men score, which is a good thing. Mad Men had impeccable music direction.

Scroll below for photos from both sets.